Self-dilating cannula

ABSTRACT

A self-dilating cannula for introduction into a patient&#39;s vasculature includes an elongate body and an atraumatic tip. The elongate body has a proximal end, a distal end, and a fluid-flow lumen extending therebetween. The atraumatic tip is positioned at the elongate body&#39;s distal end and has a blunted end and a conical shape. The atraumatic tip includes a plurality of fluid-flow openings proximal to the blunted nose that are configured to disperse fluid from the fluid-flow lumen in a plurality of directions with respect to the atraumatic tip. The atraumatic tip also includes an opening in the blunted nose that is sized to a guidewire.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/288,752, filed Dec. 21, 2009, the entirety of which is hereby incorporated by reference. This application is also related to U.S. Provisional Application Nos. 61/288,614 and 61/288,763, which are incorporated by reference in their entireties, herein.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, a self-dilating cannula is configured for arterial perfusion or venous drainage. The cannula includes a conical tip that has a blunted nose, which provides self-dilation and minimizes the incision required for cannula introduction into a patient's vasculature. The canula's tip includes multiple ports that are configured to disperse fluid flow at a lower velocity in multiple directions. The cannula's tip also includes a small hole configured to be relatively conforming to a guidewire. The cannula is configured to receive the guidewire as the cannula is advanced through the patient's vasculature over the guidewire.

The cannula body includes an obturator, which can extend through the cannula's tip, or terminate within the cannula's body. The obturator includes a central lumen configured to receive a stylet. The stylet allows the cannula and obturator to be pre-shaped, or given a predetermined shape, which provides simplified remote insertion. The stylet also provides additional column strength to the cannula-obturator assembly. The stylet can include a sharpened incising distal tip to facilitate insertion of the cannula assembly into the patient's vasculature.

The cannula body can be thick- or thin-walled. In a thin wall configuration, the cannula body can include a reinforcing element to provide additional column strength. For example, in one embodiment, the cannula body includes a wound wire, spring, or discrete sections of material that are stiffer than the overlying cannula material.

In one embodiment, the cannula also includes an external concentric stop which limits the distance the tip of the cannula can be inserted in the patient's vasculature. The cannula may be used in a variety of applications, and at a variety of insertion sites, including the aorta, axillary vessels, femoral vessels, superior vena cava, and/or right atrium of the patient's heart.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a side view of a self-dilating cannula assembly, in accordance with one embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates a distal end view observed along line 2-2 of the cannula assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates a partial cross-sectional view of the cannula assembly of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart of one embodiment of a method of inserting a cannula into a bodily lumen.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of a self-dilating cannula assembly 100. The cannula assembly 100 includes a cannula 102, obturator 104, and stylet 106. The cannula 102 includes a tubular, elongate body 108 that terminates at a connector 110 at the elongate body's proximal end and at a cannula tip 112 at the elongate body's distal end. An opening 114 located at the tip's distal end is sized to receive a piercing tip 116 of the stylet 106. The cannula tip 112 includes ports 118 configured to permit adequate fluid flow through the cannula 102 and to, or from, a patient's vasculature. An optional stop 120 allows a clinician to control the degree of insertion of the distal end of the cannula 102 into a patient's vasculature. The stop 120 is slideable along the elongate body 108, but is held in position with a locking mechanism. In one embodiment, the locking mechanism includes a friction grip between the stop 120 and the elongate body 108.

The cannula tip 112 can have a conical shape and/or a blunted and/or rounded nose. The taper and curvature of the tip 112 is selected to provide self-dilation of an opening at an insertion site as the cannula 102 is advanced through the opening. The cannula tip's shape also minimizes the incision required to insert the cannula 102 into the patient's vasculature. In one embodiment, the diameter of the distal end of the cannula tip 112 is about 0.04″, 0.06″, or 0.10″.

The ports 118 are configured to disperse fluid flow at low velocity in multiple directions. For example, in one embodiment, ports 118 are longitudinally and/or circumferentially spaced along the tip's 112 wall. The opening 114 at the cannula tip's distal end is configured to conform to a guidewire and/or stylet.

In one embodiment, the obturator 104 extends through the elongate body 108 and into the cannula tip 112. In another embodiment, the obturator 104 extends only through the elongate body 108 and terminates within it. The obturator 104 is designed to accept a sytlet 106. The stylet 106 may be used to shape and/or apply a predetermined curvature to the cannula 102 prior to insertion into the patient's vasculature. In some cases, shaping the cannula 102 by bending the stylet 106 simplifies the procedure of inserting the cannula 102 into the patient's vasculature. Furthermore, the stylet 106 also provides additional column strength to the cannula 102, which further simplifies insertion. In one embodiment, the stylet 106 has an outer diameter of about 0.038″.

The tissue-piercing tip 116 of the stylet 106 greatly simplifies the cannula-insertion process by acting as a leading-edge cutter. For example, the self-dilating cannula system 100 allows a clinician to position the cannula 102 with respect to a tissue insertion site, and with a single motion, pierce the tissue wall at the insertion site, insert and advance the cannula 102 into the patient's vasculature. The clinician may avoid the time-consuming procedures of incising the tissue wall at an insertion site, clamping the incision to stop blood flow, and utilizing a separate set of dilators to expand the incision at the insertion site, as well as the vessel lumen, in order to accept a cannula. Instead, the self-dilating cannula system 100 may be introduced into the patient's vasculature quickly, safely, and under direct vision.

The elongate body 108 can include a thick- or thin-wall configuration. For example, the elongate body 108 can have a wall thickness in the range of about 0.020″-0.080″, 0.040″-0.060″, or about 0.050″. The elongate body 108 wall can optionally include a reinforcing element (not shown). For example, in some embodiments, the elongate body 108 wall includes a wire, a wound wire, a spring, or areas or sections of material having increased stiffness compared to other areas or sections of materials.

FIG. 2 illustrates the distal end view of the cannula assembly 100 observed along line 2-2 of FIG. 1. Several ports 118 located on the cannula tip 112 are sized and oriented to allow blood to smoothly flow along the direction of a longitudinal axis of the elongate body 108. Such ports 118 allow fluid to flow through and exit (or enter) the cannula 102 via ports 118 in the cannula tip 112 that open along the elongate body's longitudinal axis.

FIG. 3 illustrates a partial cross-sectional view of the cannula assembly 100 of FIG. 1. The cannula's elongate body 108 includes an elongate body lumen 112, which is sized to receive the obturator 104. The elongate body lumen 122 diameter is slightly larger than the outside diameter of the obturator 104 so that the obturator can freely slide in and out of elongate body 108, as desired. The obturator 104 includes an obturator lumen 124, which is sized to receive the stylet 106. Similarly, the obturator lumen 124 diameter is slightly larger than the outside diameter of the stylet 106 so that the stylet can freely slide in and out of the obturator, as desired.

The degree or amount of obturator 104 insertion into the elongate body 108 may be controlled by an interference between the distal end 126 of the obturator 104 and the inside surface of the cannula tip 112. In another embodiment, the amount of obturator 104 insertion into the elongate body 108 is controlled by a limit (not shown) positioned near the proximal end of the obturator 104. The limit is designed to interfere with (e.g., contact) the connector 110 located at the elongate body's 108 proximal end.

Similarly, the degree or amount of stylet 106 insertion into the obturator 104 may be controlled by an interference between the distal end of the stylet 106 and the inside surface of the obturator's 104 distal end. In another embodiment, the amount of stylet 106 insertion into the obturator 104 is controlled by a limit (not shown) positioned near the proximal end of the stylet. The limit is designed to interfere with (e.g., contact) an end portion located at the obturator's 104 proximal end.

FIG. 4 illustrates a method 200 of inserting a cannula into a bodily lumen of a medical patient. The cannula utilized to perform the method 200 can be any of the cannulae described above, including, but not limited to the cannula assembly 100 of FIGS. 1-3. In other embodiments, a different cannula is utilized.

The method 200 begins at block 202, where an insertion site is contacted with a cannula tip of a self-dilating cannula. At block 204, a hole located at the distal end of the distal tip is pressed against the insertion site. An obturator may be inserted into the cannula to provide column strength and additional stiffness and control over the cannula. At block 206, a stylet is advanced through the elongate body of the cannula until the stylet's incising tip exits the cannula hole and punctures the tissue at the insertion site. The tissue can include one or more of skin, muscle, fat, and a vessel wall, such as a blood vessel, artery, vein, or other bodily conduit. The incising tip of the stylet punctures the tissue at the insertion site while the distal end of the cannula tip is held in contact with the vessel wall around the insertion site.

At bock 208, the incising tip and cannula tip are initially advanced into the vessel lumen through the vessel wall puncture. The incising stylet is removed from the patient's vasculature and the obturator lumen at block 210. The incising stylet is removed to reduce the risk of undesired damage to the luminal wall of the patient's vessel. At block 212, the elongate body is further advanced through the vessel lumen. If a stop is provided, the cannula is advanced until the stop contacts tissue around the insertion site.

In one embodiment, the cannula is inserted into the patient's vasculature over a guidewire. For example, after the incising stylet is removed, a guidewire is inserted through the obturator lumen in which the stylet had been inserted prior to removal. The guidewire is advanced through the obturator lumen until it exits the hole at the cannula's distal tip, and then enters the patient's vasculature through the puncture at the insertion site. The cannula slides over the guidewire and follows the guidewire through the patient's vasculature as it is advanced.

The self-dilating cannula system can be used in any of a variety of clinical applications. For example, the cannula system can be inserted into any blood-carrying vessel, chamber, or volume within a patient, including, but not limited to, the aortic artery, the axillary artery, the femoral artery, the subclavian artery, the inferior vena cava, the superior vena cava, and/or a chamber of the heart, including the right or left atrium or the right or left ventricle.

The self-dilating cannula can be used for arterial perfusion and/or venous drainage. For example, once introduced into a patient's aortic artery (as described above), the stylet and obturator are removed from the cannula. The connector at the cannula's proximal end may then be connected to the output port of a cardio-pulmonary bypass pump, such that externally oxygenated blood from the cardio-pulmonary bypass pump is introduced into the patient's aorta via the cannula. The self-dilating cannula can be guided percutaneously to the appropriate position within the person's aorta by using a guidewire. Alternatively, the self-dilating cannula can be directly inserted into the patient's aorta by least-invasive, port, or open chest surgical techniques.

In another embodiment, the self-dilating cannula is used to retrieve deoxygenated blood from the patient's vasculature. For example, the self-dilating cannula may be advanced percutaneously through the patient's femoral artery, to the inferior or superior vena cava. The connector at the cannula's proximal end may then be connect to the input port of a cardio-pulmonary bypass pump, such that deoxygenated blood retrieved from the patient is externally reoxygenated and then reintroduced into the patient's vasculature. In one embodiment, two self-dilating cannulae are provided. For example, a first cannula is coupled between the patient's venous system (e.g., superior and/or inferior vena cava) and a cardio-pulmonary bypass pump, and a second cannula is coupled between the cardio-pulmonary bypass pump and the patient's arterial system (e.g., aorta).

In certain embodiments, features of the cannulae and related methods described above are applied to, or use in accordance with any one or more of the devices and methods described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,837,864 and 6,902,545, which are incorporated by reference in their entireties herein. 

1. A self-dilating cannula for introduction into a patient's vasculature, comprising: an elongate body, the elongate body having a proximal end, a distal end, and a fluid-flow lumen extending therebetween; an atraumatic tip positioned at the elongate body's distal end, the atraumatic tip having a blunted end and a conical shape, wherein the atraumatic tip comprises a plurality of fluid-flow opening proximal to the blunted nose and configured to disperse fluid from the fluid-flow lumen in a plurality of directions with respect to the atraumatic tip, and wherein the atraumatic tip further comprises an opening in the blunted nose sized to a guidewire.
 2. The self-dilating cannula of claim 1, wherein the atraumatic tip is configured to dilate a small incision in a wall of a blood vessel when advanced therethough.
 3. The self-dilating cannula of claim 1, further comprising an obturator configured to reduce fluid flow through the fluid-flow lumen during introduction of the cannula into a blood vessel, the obturator sized to slide within the fluid-flow lumen from the proximal end towards the distal end.
 4. The self-dilating cannula of claim 3, wherein the obturator comprises a lumen sized to receive a stylet.
 5. The self-dilating cannula of claim 1, further comprising a stylet, the stylet comprising an incising end, wherein the opening of blunted nose is sized to the stylet.
 6. The self-dilating cannula of claim 5, wherein the stylet is configured to provide a predetermined shape to elongate body when inserted therein.
 7. The self-dilating cannula of claim 5, wherein the stylet is configured to provide stiffness to facilitate insertion in a vessel lumen.
 8. The self-dilating cannula of claim 1, further comprising a reinforcing element configured to provide increased stiffness to the elongate body.
 9. The self-dilating cannula of claim 8, wherein the reinforcing element comprises a wire.
 10. The self-dilating cannula of claim 8, wherein the reinforcing element comprises a spring.
 11. A method of introducing the cannula of claim 1 into a blood vessel of a patient's vascular.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the blood vessel is selected from the group comprising one or more of an axillary artery, an aorta, a femoral artery, a subclavian artery, an inferior vena cava, a superior vena cava, a chamber of the heart, a right atrium, a left atrium, a right ventricle and a left ventricle. 